Pep rally Resica Elementary School energizes kids for PSSAs

Saturday

Apr 6, 2013 at 12:01 AM

If this doesn't motivate students, probably nothing will.

CHAD SMITH

If this doesn't motivate students, probably nothing will.

An action-packed pep rally for students was held inside Resica Elementary School's gym Friday to get them excited about taking the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests. The rally was replete with academic-related and inspirational songs, comedic skits and teachers dressed up as superheroes eager to give out test-taking advice.

Administrators say that all the cheer and excitement really does help ease students' test-taking anxiety and has led to higher test scores.

"I love the songs and learning all the dance moves that go with them," said 10-year-old Ann Marie Young, a fourth-grader.

Right before the PSSAs, the school has a PSSA preparation week. Activities designed to help kids deal with the stress of the tests are held throughout the week. For example, Resica held a "You Can Hide From Stress" day at the school earlier in the week, and all the kids were allowed to come to school dressed in camouflage.

The pep rally is a culmination of all the confidence-boosting events of the week.

And quite the culmination it was on Friday.

Several hundred third- fourth- and fifth-graders packed the gym. Many second-graders were there too, but for moral support as second-graders aren't yet required to take the statewide exams.

Once all the students were settled, several teachers and students got on stage and started acting out humorous skits about studying, school and test taking. In one skit, students talked to teachers dressed up as superheroes wearing colorful Zorro-like masks.

One of the "superheroes" says to the students: "Don't worry, math is not a problem" to which one student responded: "What are you talking about? Math is full of problems."

After the audience was done laughing at the pun, the Resica Elementary mascot, the Resica Knight, who was wearing a metal ensemble and was the emcee of the event, chimed in and said: "I know the solution to all this is. You guys need 'Congo Math.'"

After that, everyone on stage broke out into a song about how math is no sweat and began dancing in a Conga line.

The East Stroudsburg University band was at the rally and provided much of the music.

Though the pep rally is fun and gives rise to a lot of laughs, it's also beneficial in other ways, too, said Resica's principal, Gail Kulick.

She said that about five years ago, the school didn't make its Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP. If a school in Pennsylvania doesn't make its AYP, the state sees that school as falling behind. One of the ways for a school to make AYP is by having high PSSA scores.

After staff at Resica instituted the pep rallies, students' scores picked up, and the school has made AYP every year since 2008, Kulick said.